Braun, V. , Tricklebank, G. and Clarke, V. (2013) It shouldnt stick out ...

GENDER AND HAIR REMOVAL 23
(Trager, 2006, p. 118), and swimwear was the most common reason cited by women in another
Canadian study for why they removed pubic hair (Riddell et al., 2010).
The experience of hair exposure did not just apply to pubic hair for women, and to some
extent the gendered focus on the bikini line may also reflect male swimsuit preferences in New
Zealand (typically long loose “boardshorts”), as well as some underwear styles. However, the
gendered focus possibly also partly reflects the contrast between visible pubic hair on female
bodies that are otherwise relatively (and normatively) hairless. Pubic hair on a woman that
protrudes beyond the cover of swimwear or underwear cannot usually be disguised as leg or
abdominal hair, as it may be for a man. With the female body ideally and normatively hairless
(Toerien & Wilkinson, 2004), visible pubic hair, especially if dark, is salient.
Theme 3: Cleanliness. The third theme—“pubic hair is not dirty but having less is
cleaner”—related to cleanliness. When directly asked if pubic hair was dirty, a majority of
participants identified that it was not dirty: “No—it gets showered as much as any other body
part” (16F, 31); “No, it’s hair—if you shower then it’s clean” (47M, 25); “No. Because it gets
cleaned when you have a shower” (33F, 21); “No it’s very natural no more dirty than your head
or even less so as it is covered at day time” (44M, 44); and “I only think pubic hair is dirty if it
contains crabs or lice or flaky skin” (09M, 39). In contrast to some other studies where pubic hair
has itself been seen as dirty (Weigle, 2009), almost all participants expressed the idea that if it
was cleaned regularly, like any other part of the body, pubic hair would not be dirty, but
acknowledged the potential for pubic hair to be dirty if not washed or cleaned.
However, this explicit claim to cleanliness was somewhat contradicted by a prominent
theme related to pubic hair removal specifically, where participants suggested that people would
remove hair to be or feel cleaner, as well as to make the genital area easier to keep clean: “Makes